APOSTALEM — On Thursday, while Israel’s military struck the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip with airstrikes and made preparations for a potential ground invasion, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken affirmed American support for Israel. With Palestinians attempting to replenish dwindling supplies of bread and groceries, Israel declared that no goods could be imported into Gaza until Hamas militants released the 150 hostages they had captured during their murderous incursion over the weekend.

After Israel obstructed the entry of supplies from Egypt and halted shipments of food, water, fuel, and electricity to Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants, international aid organizations warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis. Each party has lost a minimum of 2,700 lives in the conflict.

According to a statement made by Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz on social media, until the Israeli hostages are returned home, not a single electricity switch, tap or fuel truck will be allowed to access the area.

Thursday, an Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, informed reporters that forces are “preparing for a ground maneuver” if political authorities so require. Due to the dense population concentration on a sliver of land measuring merely 40 kilometers (25 miles), a ground offensive in Gaza would probably inflict even greater casualties on both parties through vicious house-to-house combat.

Hamas militants have launched thousands of missiles into Israel as Israel bombards Gaza from the air. Amid concerns that the fighting could extend throughout the region, Syrian state media reported that international airports in Aleppo, the northern city of Damascus, and Damascus itself were rendered inoperable by Israeli airstrikes on Thursday.

One could have observed Palestinians fleeing airstrikes in Gaza, frantically traversing the streets while carrying their belongings and searching for a secure haven. As of Wednesday night, approximately 15% of Gaza’s population, or 340,000 individuals, had departed their residences. Most are housed in schools operated by the United Nations, whereas others stay with family members or acquaintances.

People formed lengthy lines at grocery stores and bakeries that ventured to open to stock up before the shelves ran out. Wednesday marked the decommissioning of Gaza’s sole power station due to petroleum scarcity, leaving the region with lights sourced from dispersed private generators.

As Desperation In Gaza Grows, Israel Says It Won’t Allow Aid To Flow Until Hamas Releases Hostages.

Aid officials report that hospitals running low on supplies and are overrun with wounded patients have only a few days’ worth of petroleum before their power is cut off. The U.N. reports that the water cut-off has also resulted in severe water shortages for more than 650,000 individuals.

“Healthcare facilities run the risk of transforming into mortuaries in the absence of electricity,” said Fabrizio Carboni, regional director of the International Committee of the Red Cross. He stated that electricity powers newborn incubators, kidney dialysis machines, X-ray machines, and other devices.

There was no more space for ambulance crews transporting bodies from the rubble of destroyed structures to the mortuary at Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza. There was a queue of dozens of corpses in body bags in the hospital’s parking lot. Strikes have damaged fourteen health facilities, health officials reported Thursday.

“The situation is extremely critical,” stated Mohammad Abu Selmia, the superintendent of the Shifa hospital. “Days in Gaza have never been such as they are at the moment.”

Due to Israel’s region closure, the sole means of accessing or departing is via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Per the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Rafah has not been officially shut down; however, its operations have been impeded due to airstrikes. Egypt has been trying to persuade Israel and the United States to permit fuel and humanitarian deliveries to pass through Rafah.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel pledged to “crush” Hamas on Saturday when the militant organization stormed into the country’s southern region and slaughtered hundreds of people, including young people at a music festival and children in their homes. Netanyahu accused Hamas of atrocities such as raping women and beheading soldiers. An independent source did not corroborate his claims.

As Desperation In Gaza Grows, Israel Says It Won’t Allow Aid To Flow Until Hamas Releases Hostages.

Amid national sorrow and retribution demands, the Israeli government is under intense pressure to depose Hamas rather than continue to attempt to contain the organization in Gaza.

Following the conclusion of four prior conflicts, the faction has maintained a firm grip on its governed region since 2007. Near Gaza, Israel has deployed 360,000 reservists, evacuated tens of thousands of inhabitants from neighboring communities, and amassed additional forces. The battle is currently being directed by a new war cabinet, which includes a longstanding opposition politician.

Saleh Al-Arouri, a senior Hamas official, issued the following threat on Thursday: “Any Israeli invasion of Gaza would be catastrophic for its army,” and the organization would be ready to retaliate.

Blinken’s visit emphasized the United States’ support for Israel’s response.

“You may be capable of defending yourselves, but as long as the United States of America exists, you will never have to,” Blinken said following a meeting with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. “We shall perpetually stand by your side.”

On Friday, Blinken is scheduled to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose authority is limited to portions of the occupied West Bank.

Palestine annexed the West Bank, Gaza, and eastern Jerusalem during a 1967 conflict. Palestine desires all three territories for its future state, but peace negotiations have been suspended for more than ten years.

As Desperation In Gaza Grows, Israel Says It Won’t Allow Aid To Flow Until Hamas Releases Hostages.

Overnight strikes in Gaza, according to the Israeli military, targeted Hamas’ elite Nukhba forces, including command centers utilized by the fighters in Saturday’s assault and the residence of a senior Hamas naval operative, which the military claimed was used to store unidentified weaponry. Two commanders of two smaller militant organizations were slain in additional airstrikes, according to media outlets affiliated with those groups.

“At this time, our primary objective is to eliminate their senior leadership,” stated Hecht, the military spokesman regarding Hamas. “In addition to the military leadership, the governmental leadership as well, including Yehia Sinwar, the highest-ranking Hamas leader.”

Israel has adopted a novel strategy of demolishing entire neighborhoods instead of merely specific structures. According to Hecht, targeting decisions were determined by intelligence, and civilians were warned.

Palestinians claim that despite the warnings, some have been unable to escape or are stranded and that entire families have been engulfed in debris.

The Associated Press obtained drone footage that unveiled the destructive extent of the Shati refugee camp in the northern region of Gaza due to airstrikes that occurred overnight. Residents searched for survivors while clearing debris with their bare hands. A man collapsed into the embrace of a fellow resident upon learning that his family members who had gone missing had been identified as deceased.

As Desperation In Gaza Grows, Israel Says It Won’t Allow Aid To Flow Until Hamas Releases Hostages.

Early Wednesday morning in the Bureij refugee camp, Jaber Weshah, a 73-year-old rights activist, stated that a strike that destroyed a multi-story building adjacent to his occurred without warning. Residents reported that at least twelve people were murdered, including a bookseller, his wife, two toddler daughters, and six members of another family.

“It resembled an inferno,” stated Weshah.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, two Palestinians were killed in the West Bank on Thursday when Israeli settlers opened fire at a funeral for three individuals slain in a settler rampage the day before. Jewish settlers in automobiles were captured on film swerving into the funeral procession, cutting off the road, and then halting and opening fire.

Since Saturday, the Health Ministry reports that over twenty Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and two in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem; most of these fatalities were caused by police fire upon stone-throwing demonstrators.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the number of fatalities in Gaza surpassed 1,400.

More than 1,300 people, including 247 soldiers, have been slain in Israel, according to the Israeli military, a staggering number not seen since the weeks-long war with Egypt and Syria in 1973.

Both parties have suffered thousands of casualties.

According to Israel, approximately 1,500 Hamas militants were slain within its borders, with hundreds of those killed in Gaza being Hamas members.

SOURCE – (AP)